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Teen Pulse

When I hear the term “recycled fashion,” I automatically think of hand-me-downs and thrift shop threads. And in a way, recycled fashion is just that.

In fact, according to The Council for Textile Recycling, about 2.5 billion pounds of fabric would be thrown away if it weren’t for consignment stores.

Fashion comes at a price — an environmental price that consumers often forget about when they eye a pair of stilettos or splurge on a designer bag.

In light of current environmental conditions, the definition of “recycled fashion” has expanded to include clothing that is actually made from materials that would otherwise be thrown into the garbage or recycled.

Inspired and creative designers across the globe are starting to use the materials they would normally throw away to create whimsical pieces of clothing that make a social and environmental statement.

The Second Annual Los Alamos Trash Fashion Contest will make exactly this statement at the Next Big Idea Festival on Sept. 14. The show will take place at noon at the roundabout by Pet Pangaea.

The contest is open to people of all ages, who may enter an eye-catching garment that is made of at least 75 percent recycled or reused materials.

On a cool spring day during the second semester of the 2012-2013 school year, Los Alamos High School had what at first seemed like a regular fire drill. Little did Marilyn Fabry know, however, that it was a fake fire drill — a secret plan to stage a pep rally for the LAHS mathematics teacher who was stoically battling cancer.

As the alarms buzzed, students clad in orange congregated on the steps of the amphitheater by the new building, waving signs with inspirational words for Fabry, determined to surprise and support her.

A massive tubular orange air-puppet named George rippled in the breeze, a gleaming smile on his face. As the crowd grew, a group of teachers scuttled around, plugging in speakers and making last minute preparations for the surprise.

“It was probably the best kept secret on this campus,” said LAHS principal Sandra Warnock, in retrospect.

Then the double doors at the bottom of the amphitheater opened and out came Fabry, unsuspecting and sporting a knitted hat, pushed in a wheelchair by her daughter Stephanie Pittman, who also works at LAHS.

As part of a collaborative effort between the Teen Pulse staff and the Los Alamos Middle School ‘Beak’ staff, LAMS journalism students in Sherri Bublitz’s class will contribute material for the Teen Pulse page every other week.

The Los Alamos Youth Activity Center is located at 475 20th St., next to Ashley Pond, 662-9412. The White Rock Activity Center is located at 10 Sherwood Blvd., across from Smith’s in Rocket Park, 672-1565. The centers are open from 3-6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; and from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday. Memberships are free and open to all third through eighth graders.

Many people have heard the myth, “people from Los Alamos glow bright pink,” but where did this myth come from?
It has something to do with a practice bombing back in the 1940s.
People in Albuquerque suspected something was going on in Los Alamos because of sudden traffic that had been going on for about two weeks.
They wondered why so many people would go up to such a deserted place.
On May 7, 1945, residents saw a large ball in the sky; a large amount of TNT had been released and made the situation even more suspicious. Residents began talking about “The Secret of the Hill.”
The same night the TNT was released, people from Santa Fe were awakened by a loud bang, along with dancing lights in the sky. Obviously something big was going to happen.
Finally, at exactly 5:29 a.m., a strange “sun” began to rise brighter ever before.
It was a brilliant bright pink. People who saw this thought that when the TNT fell from the sky, it would turn the people from Los Alamos bright pink.
It is said that this is how the myth “people from Los Alamos glow bright pink at night” all started.

There are few better seasons for movies than summer. It’s a time for blockbusters to make big bucks and for comedies to make audiences laugh. This summer was no exception.

“Man of Steel”
(5 out of 10 stars)

One of the biggest letdowns of this summer, “Man of Steel” turned out to be possibly the worst film of the year.
Directed by Zack Snyder, director of “300” and “Watchmen,” and produced by Christopher Nolan, director of “The Dark Knight” franchise and “Inception,” the film seemed as if it couldn’t go wrong.

The movie was laden with promise — maybe this time they’d get it right. Unfortunately it did.

Due to its excessive and pointless destruction, terrible acting, badly written dialogue and shallow plot, the film not only failed to recapture the excitement created by the Superman franchise of the late ’70s and ’80s, but also turned out to be one of the worst super hero films of all time.

Although it seemed as if this portrayal of superman would manage to revive the story of America’s favorite superhero, the film failed like so many before it, and turned out to be nothing more than another pointless Hollywood blockbuster.